Joe Rogan Experience #1937 - Punkie Johnson

1. 0:00 – 1:52

   From Comedy Store bartender to SNL cast member

   1. JRJoe Rogan0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience.

   2. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (instrumental music plays) From the bartender at The Comedy Store-

   3. PJPunkie Johnson0:16

      That's right.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:17

      ... to Saturday Night Live.

   5. PJPunkie Johnson0:18

      Yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:19

      What the fuck?

   7. PJPunkie Johnson0:20

      Yeah, yeah. There, I'm still, I'm still processing that if you want me to be honest with you.

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:25

      How many years was it?

   9. PJPunkie Johnson0:26

      (sighs) How many years I worked at the store?

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       Yeah.

   11. PJPunkie Johnson0:28

       (sighs) I think 10.

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:31

       10 years at the store. W- what, what year did you start?

   13. PJPunkie Johnson0:34

       Yeah, I did-

   14. JRJoe Rogan0:34

       What j- what year did you start comedy?

   15. PJPunkie Johnson0:37

       If I'm not mistaken, it was 2011.

   16. JRJoe Rogan0:39

       Oh, cheers, my friend.

   17. PJPunkie Johnson0:41

       Cheers. Cheers.

   18. JRJoe Rogan0:41

       So good to see you.

   19. PJPunkie Johnson0:42

       Thank you so much.

   20. JRJoe Rogan0:43

       And s- congratulations on your success.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson0:44

       Thank you, thank you.

   22. JRJoe Rogan0:45

       It's been amazing to see.

   23. PJPunkie Johnson0:46

       This, this a dream come true, be- just being here.

   24. JRJoe Rogan0:48

       Awesome.

   25. PJPunkie Johnson0:49

       Just the success right here.

   26. JRJoe Rogan0:50

       It's a dream come true for me to see you rise.

   27. PJPunkie Johnson0:53

       Mm.

   28. JRJoe Rogan0:53

       I love it. I love it when I see people start off at the store and just get their feet under them and get their shit together and pull it off.

   29. PJPunkie Johnson1:01

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan1:01

       Whoo, it's so exciting.
2. 1:52 – 3:51

   The lawsuit that financed the leap: falling into a hole in New Orleans

   1. PJPunkie Johnson1:52

      Got me a little job. I moved out there. I had me a little change 'cause I had, uh, I didn't work for six months when I first went out there because I fell in a hole in New Orleans.

   2. JRJoe Rogan2:02

      A hole?

   3. PJPunkie Johnson2:03

      Yeah. (laughs) I was just-

   4. JRJoe Rogan2:04

      What kind of hole?

   5. PJPunkie Johnson2:04

      I was just minding my business walking down the street and I, I just, fluke, I just fell out of the world into a hole. It was wet cement that was not blocked off.

   6. JRJoe Rogan2:14

      Oh, no.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson2:14

      And I went down to, like, neck. (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan2:17

      Oh, no.

   9. PJPunkie Johnson2:18

      So I was just like, but, ju- trying to get out and my stupid ass, I didn't realize how dangerous it was for me to be in that hole. I was laughing the whole time. I was like, "Ah, ha ha, stupid ass fell in a hole." And then I had the, I was... The Walgreens was right there so I had to go. I bought, like, some p- pajamas or whatever they had and I went home and my parents were like, "This is not funny. Like, you could've lost your life." And then I got this major lawsuit. I had to go to physical therapy 'cause my adrenaline was pumping so I didn't know I was hurt. Um, so the next day I was just like, "Ah, my back was stressed, my arms were stressed 'cause I was banging on the ground trying to get out, trying to pull myself to the cement to, uh, climb out."

   10. JRJoe Rogan2:53

       How did you get out? Did someone help you?

   11. PJPunkie Johnson2:55

       I, no, nobody was outside. (laughs) I was screaming.

   12. JRJoe Rogan2:59

       Oh, shit.

   13. PJPunkie Johnson2:59

       (laughs) But I was laughing 'cause I'm goofy and I'm like, "You dumb bitch, how you fall into a hole?" But I didn't realize how serious it was till after, and then my parents, they brought me to a lawyer and they're like, "Hell no." Like, "No, you could've, you could've died." And then I just, I forgot all about it. I went to therapy for a year and then I got a check.

   14. JRJoe Rogan3:16

       It took a year to get better from that?

   15. PJPunkie Johnson3:18

       Well, you know with the lawyers and shit, you gotta go to therapy while they f- litigate and figure shit out.

   16. JRJoe Rogan3:24

       Right.

   17. PJPunkie Johnson3:24

       And then-

   18. JRJoe Rogan3:25

       Did you have any, like, lasting problems from it?

   19. PJPunkie Johnson3:28

       Um, for a couple years, my neck. I had a strained back, I had a strained neck, um, but I was well co-... I was living in, for six months in Los Angeles with no job.

   20. JRJoe Rogan3:39

       Nice.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson3:39

       I was, I was compensated pretty well.

   22. JRJoe Rogan3:42

       So that's what got you to LA, falling in a hole?

   23. PJPunkie Johnson3:44

       That's what got me financially-

   24. JRJoe Rogan3:47

       Able.

   25. PJPunkie Johnson3:47

       ... able. Now, me going to LA, that's a different story. I don't know.

3. 3:51 – 6:08

   First sets and the value of small rooms (Icehouse, Belly Room, Rhino Room)

   1. JRJoe Rogan3:51

      So did you start standup in New Orleans? Where'd you start?

   2. PJPunkie Johnson3:56

      I started in... So I was always a comedian in, in my head, like, I would always, like, make up these little jokes. New Orleans wasn't big on comedy. They're still not too. They growing, it's a growing comedic community out there right now and, um, I just, my, my family is com- they comedians. They just goofy. I mean, we don't cry at funerals. We just super s-

   3. JRJoe Rogan4:21

      (laughs)

   4. PJPunkie Johnson4:21

      I mean, just dumb. Just, my mom cracked jokes when she was punishing me as a kid. She would say riddles while she was whipping my ass. I mean, (drum beat) it w- it was nothing, like, everything was just funny. It was nothing ever was serious in my family and, like, if we, you know, on the weekends, you know, you clean the house, you listen to music, we listened to comedy in my house and before I went to sleep every night I watched ComicView on BET so I was like, "You know what? I wanna do that." And, um, so I started in Los Angeles when I got out there.

   5. JRJoe Rogan4:50

      So the, so the store was the first time you did standup?

   6. PJPunkie Johnson4:54

      Uh, I think the first time I ever did w- a set was at the Icehouse-

   7. JRJoe Rogan4:58

      Ah.

   8. PJPunkie Johnson4:59

      ... in the Rhino Room.

   9. JRJoe Rogan5:01

      The little room?

   10. PJPunkie Johnson5:02

       The s- yeah, the small room in the back.

   11. JRJoe Rogan5:03

       Yeah. That small room's the shit.

   12. PJPunkie Johnson5:05

       Oh, yeah. I, I, if I need to go and practice something, that's a-

   13. JRJoe Rogan5:08

       That small room is truth serum. If you-

   14. PJPunkie Johnson5:09

       I love-

   15. JRJoe Rogan5:09

       ... joke suck in that small room, they suck.

   16. PJPunkie Johnson5:12

       Hell yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan5:12

       Yeah.

   18. PJPunkie Johnson5:12

       I'll, I'll go take a nice, sexy vom in them little bitty rooms.

   19. JRJoe Rogan5:15

       (laughs)

   20. PJPunkie Johnson5:15

       Just, just some shit I've just got in my head and I need to get out.

   21. JRJoe Rogan5:18

       Yeah.

   22. PJPunkie Johnson5:18

       Oh, yeah. Like the Belly Room, Rhino Room.

   23. JRJoe Rogan5:21

       Mm-hmm.

   24. PJPunkie Johnson5:22

       I don't know if The Laugh Factory had a little room.

   25. JRJoe Rogan5:24

       No.

   26. PJPunkie Johnson5:25

       No. So I never really... I just like the little baby rooms.

   27. JRJoe Rogan5:28

       Those little rooms are, when you're with a tiny amount of people, you get to see what's bullshit in your act.

   28. PJPunkie Johnson5:33

       Yeah, and it's close-

   29. JRJoe Rogan5:35

       Yeah.

   30. PJPunkie Johnson5:35

       ... and it's intimate.
4. 6:08 – 7:37

   Heartbreak, self-check, and driving cross-country to start over

   1. PJPunkie Johnson6:08

      ... I'm like, "What the..." Because I didn't know the history. So, when... Okay, so basically I'm- I'm like this- this- this- this chick from this... from, you know, New Orleans, Louis... It's the country, you know what I'm saying? It's... New Orleans is a city, but I went to school in Thibodaux, Louisiana. It's... In that super, super country town, right? Now, I always had dreams of coming to Hollywood, but I ain't know how I was gonna get there. So I was... It was just word... It was just me verbally speaking it, so I didn't know what I was gonna do. And then I moved back to New Orleans. I was in a eight-year relationship with this girl. Uh, we broke up. I didn't know how to be hurt. That was my first time ever being hurt, so I started following her everywhere.

   2. JRJoe Rogan6:51

      Oh, no. (laughs)

   3. PJPunkie Johnson6:52

      (laughs) And like stalking her. And I remember I used to sit outside in this tree with snacks and weed.

   4. JRJoe Rogan6:58

      You sat in a tree?

   5. PJPunkie Johnson7:00

      I... I'm telling you, I was tripping. I was young and I didn't know what to do, and that... I don't know. I was tripping. Anyway, cut all that shit short-

   6. JRJoe Rogan7:08

      Right.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson7:08

      ... I'm like, you know how you just gotta look in the mirror sometimes and be like, "Yo, you tripping."

   8. JRJoe Rogan7:12

      Right.

   9. PJPunkie Johnson7:13

      Like, "Chase your dreams." Like, "Don't be chasing no females." Like, "What are you doing?"

   10. JRJoe Rogan7:17

       Right.

   11. PJPunkie Johnson7:17

       So I just had, like, this epiphany about myself, like, "Bro," like, "get out of here." And, uh, within a week, I was out. I was out. I told my job I quit, I told my moms I was leaving, I packed up all my shit in this two-door, uh, blue Honda thing, and I drove across the country just like that.

   12. JRJoe Rogan7:36

       Wow.

5. 7:37 – 9:50

   Getting hired at The Comedy Store and learning the hustle behind the bar

   1. PJPunkie Johnson7:37

      And that's how I got into comedy, because I had a interview at The Comedy Store, and when I got there, it was like 75 people in the original room. And I looked around, I ain't never seen no shit like that before. A audition, you waiting in the office, it's one, two people maybe. This was a line full of people waiting to be seen. So I pull back, I was like, "All right. Okay, um, if I get this job, that mean it's meant for me to do comedy." Because I was like, "Ain't no way I'm gonna get this job out of all these people." So, I get interviewed. The dude, Mark, he loved the fact that I was from New Orleans. He was gay, and he loved the fact that I was gay. So he was... I got hired, and I had a lot of charisma, Joe. Come on, now.

   2. JRJoe Rogan8:16

      (laughs)

   3. PJPunkie Johnson8:17

      Come on, now.

   4. JRJoe Rogan8:18

      Had you ever bartended before?

   5. PJPunkie Johnson8:20

      Yeah, yeah.

   6. JRJoe Rogan8:21

      Okay.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson8:21

      I bartended for, I think, two... I think two years, um, before... But that's... The Comedy... See, people... A lot of people be sleeping on The Comedy Store. That's a whole different ballgame.

   8. JRJoe Rogan8:31

      Yeah.

   9. PJPunkie Johnson8:32

      The volume up in that place is crazy. You're doing three shows a night sometimes, where you gotta switch out... I mean, you gotta work fast, because you're serving, what, 400, 500, 600, 700... You could be serving 800 to 900 people a night, and you got to get them all two, three, sometimes four drinks within two hours.

   10. JRJoe Rogan8:51

       Yeah, you guys hustle back there.

   11. PJPunkie Johnson8:52

       You g- And I mean, we sweating, we soaking wet.

   12. JRJoe Rogan8:54

       I know, I was always impressed. I was always impressed watching you guys hustle back there.

   13. PJPunkie Johnson8:58

       Man, that's cr- Yeah, I mean, you know, I mean, you making money.

   14. JRJoe Rogan9:01

       Yeah.

   15. PJPunkie Johnson9:01

       You're having a good time, and you... And it's- and it's- and it's family-oriented, you know, it's family-owned, so you're having a good time, but you gotta move.

   16. JRJoe Rogan9:07

       Well, that b- area, that back bar area is like... That's the vibe.

   17. PJPunkie Johnson9:12

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan9:12

       That's where everybody comes back and checks in on everybody-

   19. PJPunkie Johnson9:14

       Yeah.

   20. JRJoe Rogan9:14

       ... hugs everybody, says hi.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson9:17

       And what I love about it is, we got to sip a little bit too while we was working.

   22. JRJoe Rogan9:22

       (laughs)

   23. PJPunkie Johnson9:22

       We come in that bitch, start with a shot.

   24. JRJoe Rogan9:23

       Oh, we'd always do shots together.

   25. PJPunkie Johnson9:25

       We like, "All right, everybody. Come on, now. Uh," (laughs) "y'all know how it's gonna be."

   26. JRJoe Rogan9:29

       I think I probably did 1,000 shots with you. (laughs)

   27. PJPunkie Johnson9:33

       (laughs) Man.

   28. JRJoe Rogan9:33

       Before shows-

   29. PJPunkie Johnson9:34

       (laughs)

   30. JRJoe Rogan9:34

       ... we always did shots.
6. 9:50 – 11:41

   Comedy Store rules: staff-first culture, kicking out problem customers, and wild energy

   1. PJPunkie Johnson9:50

      "You ain't gotta say nothing." And The Comedy Store is always a place of the customer ain't always right. Like, "Don't come in here with that bullshit."

   2. JRJoe Rogan9:59

      Right. Yeah.

   3. PJPunkie Johnson10:00

      "We kicking you out-"

   4. JRJoe Rogan10:01

      Yeah.

   5. PJPunkie Johnson10:02

      "... on sight."

   6. JRJoe Rogan10:02

      Yeah.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson10:03

      "Don't start with the comedians on stage. We don't really care what happened between you and the server. The server gonna win." (laughs)

   8. JRJoe Rogan10:10

      Well, we know the servers.

   9. PJPunkie Johnson10:11

      (laughs) Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan10:11

       We know they're not assholes.

   11. PJPunkie Johnson10:12

       No.

   12. JRJoe Rogan10:13

       There's no assholes there, you know?

   13. PJPunkie Johnson10:15

       No.

   14. JRJoe Rogan10:15

       There was a few over the years, but they kind of weeded them out.

   15. PJPunkie Johnson10:18

       W- There's-

   16. JRJoe Rogan10:18

       You know, just a few.

   17. PJPunkie Johnson10:19

       It's a place of like, you know, "If- if- if you're not with us, you're against us and you gotta go."

   18. JRJoe Rogan10:25

       Yeah.

   19. PJPunkie Johnson10:25

       "And we'll- we'll figure that out real fast."

   20. JRJoe Rogan10:26

       Yeah.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson10:27

       "Real fast."

   22. JRJoe Rogan10:27

       I saw so many people-

   23. PJPunkie Johnson10:29

       We'll figure out the lights.

   24. JRJoe Rogan10:29

       ... try to flex and talk to the manager and think they're gonna get somebody fired. And, uh, it's hilarious th- the- the reaction, so different at The Comedy Store. They're like, "Yeah, you gotta go."

   25. PJPunkie Johnson10:39

       (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan10:39

       And they're like, "What?" (laughs)

   27. PJPunkie Johnson10:40

       Yeah. "You gotta get out of there."

   28. JRJoe Rogan10:42

       "That person was rude to me." N- no, they definitely weren't.

   29. PJPunkie Johnson10:45

       "Look, handle it-"

   30. JRJoe Rogan10:46

       Yeah.
7. 11:41 – 15:56

   Mob history, bullet holes, and the mythos of the building

   1. JRJoe Rogan11:41

      Well, it is a family, and it is an amazing place. That place has launched so many careers. I mean, the history of that building is just insane. Even before The Comedy Store, the history of the building, back when it was Ciro's Nightclub and-

   2. PJPunkie Johnson11:54

      Yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan11:54

      ... you know, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Sammy Davis, Jr., like, all these, like, world-class talents-

   4. PJPunkie Johnson12:00

      Mm-hmm.

   5. JRJoe Rogan12:00

      ... would be on that stage.

   6. PJPunkie Johnson12:02

      Yeah, some good spirits in that building.

   7. JRJoe Rogan12:03

      Yeah.

   8. PJPunkie Johnson12:04

      There's some-

   9. JRJoe Rogan12:05

      For sure. And a lot of murder, too.

   10. PJPunkie Johnson12:07

       Yeah, I, uh... (laughs) So Jeff Scott, God rest his wonderful soul, on Halloween, he would do, like, these, uh...... these, these little haunted comedy tour-

   11. JRJoe Rogan12:17

       Mm.

   12. PJPunkie Johnson12:17

       ... expedition, exposition things up in the, uh, in a building, and he would show us all the places where the bullet holes were.

   13. JRJoe Rogan12:26

       (laughs)

   14. PJPunkie Johnson12:26

       And, you know, and then he would tell us, like, all of these crazy stories-

   15. JRJoe Rogan12:30

       Yeah.

   16. PJPunkie Johnson12:31

       ... about, you know, like, the abortion room and all of this stuff.

   17. JRJoe Rogan12:34

       I don't know if that was real.

   18. PJPunkie Johnson12:35

       I don't think so either.

   19. JRJoe Rogan12:36

       I don't think that one's real.

   20. PJPunkie Johnson12:36

       I'm just like, "That's bullshit."

   21. JRJoe Rogan12:38

       That doesn't seem true.

   22. PJPunkie Johnson12:38

       But it's still, like, something super interesting and super fun, and I'm just sitting up there. I'm nude-

   23. JRJoe Rogan12:43

       Yeah.

   24. PJPunkie Johnson12:43

       ... my fa- I'm just like, "What? This is crazy. The drug house, the murder."

   25. JRJoe Rogan12:49

       But it was 100% a mob-owned nightclub. That was w- That's the fact.

   26. PJPunkie Johnson12:55

       Yes.

   27. JRJoe Rogan12:55

       And you gotta think that some evil shit went down-

   28. PJPunkie Johnson12:58

       Oh, yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan12:59

       ... in that building.

   30. PJPunkie Johnson13:00

       Absolutely.
8. 15:56 – 19:03

   COVID shock, leaving LA, and Punkie’s accelerated growth after getting passed

   1. PJPunkie Johnson15:56

      I remember when, uh, COVID hit-

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:59

      Yeah.

   3. PJPunkie Johnson15:59

      ... I was so afraid. I was just scared that maybe it'll get shut down 'cause things wasn't looking right. It wasn't looking good.

   4. JRJoe Rogan16:06

      It came close.

   5. PJPunkie Johnson16:08

      I was just like... That was one thing I was saying, "Please don't let this place shut down. Please don't let this place shut down."

   6. JRJoe Rogan16:12

      Well, fortunately they made a lot of money from 2014 to, like, 2019, like, when it went down.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson16:20

      Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

   8. JRJoe Rogan16:20

      You know, when, '20, when it-

   9. PJPunkie Johnson16:22

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan16:22

       ... when it stopped, when everything stopped, so they had some money put away, but, you know, how long can you stay open and pay the rent and not have any income coming in?

   11. PJPunkie Johnson16:32

       Yeah, when COVID hit I had to leave.

   12. JRJoe Rogan16:34

       Yeah.

   13. PJPunkie Johnson16:34

       'Cause I wasn't, I didn't have any income coming in. I was like, "There ain't no way in hell I can stay up in this... In, in Los Angeles."

   14. JRJoe Rogan16:41

       So, had you done any road work by then? Like, what you had... You'd been doing standup since 2011.

   15. PJPunkie Johnson16:47

       Right, right, right.

   16. JRJoe Rogan16:48

       And, like, where... You'd only been doing it in LA? Where had you been doing it?

   17. PJPunkie Johnson16:52

       Um, I would get, like, small gigs, like, I would... Uh, like the Madhouse would show me some love. Uh-

   18. JRJoe Rogan16:57

       That's San Diego?

   19. PJPunkie Johnson16:57

       San Diego. Uh, Punchline San Francisco would show me some love. Um-

   20. JRJoe Rogan17:02

       That's a great room right there.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson17:02

       It... Yeah.

   22. JRJoe Rogan17:03

       That's a great room.

   23. PJPunkie Johnson17:03

       Yeah. I love, I love it. I love it. And, uh, I, I honestly did not know what I was doing. I, I just kinda, I just kinda fell in... I didn't fall into the comedy game 'cause that's what I wanted to do, and when I got the job at The Store I'm like, "All right. Bet you're supposed to do comedy." I, I, I was the type of person, I'm like, "You know what? I'ma just ride it out. I'll probably..." You know, of course I had dreams, but I w- But the way it's set up, like how hard it is and how much rejection is out there, I wa- I just was like, "You know what? I'm probably just gonna be a comedy store comic forever. Fuck it. Whatever." Right? So, then I just... I get passed in 2016. Surprised. I was like, "Oh, okay. For sure," but I had a killer set. My set was super ridiculous, and from that I got a manager. I did this show with my guy, Ahmet, uh, Waynberg, with Sarah, Sarah Silverman Company, so I got managers through that. It was called Please Understand. Um, and then they, uh, uh, my managers Dave Becki and Ethan Stern, they like, "All right, kid. What you want?" I said, "What?" They said, "What you want?" They said... I was like, "I just thought..." They were just like, "Nah, you, you, you, you...... we about to put your life together now. I'm like, "All right, bet." I wanna do this, this, this, this, and this. They said, "Cool, now it's time to goal it out, let's roll." And I was like, "All right." So, that's when things became a little more serious, and that's when I started, like, really learning the game. But I didn't really know about The Road until three years ago. And, but that, but, but of course that was after, um, SNL, and now I done went from doing 15 minutes at The Comedy Store to, "Oh, no, now you gotta do an hour, you on TV." I'm like, "Oh, okay." Um, "You got an hour?" "Absolutely." "No, I don't." (laughs)

   24. JRJoe Rogan18:54

       (laughs) How much time did you have?

   25. PJPunkie Johnson18:55

       I don't know, 20 minutes, 30 minutes of just shit that I had accumulated over the years.

   26. JRJoe Rogan19:00

       Right.

   27. PJPunkie Johnson19:00

       But now it was time for me to start putting it all together.

   28. JRJoe Rogan19:03

       Right.

9. 19:03 – 25:34

   Comedy craft: “economy of words,” building sets, and imposter syndrome

   1. PJPunkie Johnson19:03

      And every single step of the way while I was doing that, I was thinking about you because I remember we had a conversation at the store. I would ask you for advice. I know you gave a lot of people advice, you probably don't remember you told me this, but you was just like, "Economy of words," like, "Psh."

   2. JRJoe Rogan19:17

      Yeah.

   3. PJPunkie Johnson19:17

      "What that mean, Jo?" Fuck all that, get, get rid of all that fat, get to the point. Find out how to explain your stories simply, quickly, get to the punchline. I'm like, "All right." So, as I'm putting this set together, I got paragraphs and paragraphs of shit trying to describe (laughs) my joke, and I'm like, "Economy of words, bitch." And then I'm... And that's when my comedy started getting better, 'cause I'm like, "All right, I'mma say a sentence, I'mma say a joke, I'mma say a sentence, I'mma say a joke." And if I gotta ha- tell a story with it, I'mma make sure I got references inside of it and act outs so it, so it could be full and it don't have air or space in it.

   4. JRJoe Rogan19:52

      Yeah.

   5. PJPunkie Johnson19:52

      So, I'm still working on that, though, by the way, but I'm better.

   6. JRJoe Rogan19:55

      Well, we all are.

   7. PJPunkie Johnson19:56

      Yeah.

   8. JRJoe Rogan19:57

      You, you work on it forever.

   9. PJPunkie Johnson19:58

      Yeah.

   10. JRJoe Rogan19:58

       That's, I mean-

   11. PJPunkie Johnson19:59

       Yeah, I agree.

   12. JRJoe Rogan19:59

       Especially because you're gonna always come up with new material.

   13. PJPunkie Johnson20:02

       Mm-hmm.

   14. JRJoe Rogan20:02

       So, as you come up with new material, you're always working on it.

   15. PJPunkie Johnson20:04

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan20:05

       Yeah.

   17. PJPunkie Johnson20:05

       And that's, that's why I like doing the little, the small rooms to work on it. But (laughs) my small rooms now are the clubs. (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan20:12

       Yeah.

   19. PJPunkie Johnson20:13

       You know what I'm saying? Like, there's no more... I mean, don't get it twisted, I'll go do some comedy in a coffee shop in a second. I'm, I'm humble, I'm not about to be, I ain't going to no c-... Nah, that's not me. You know, but before all of this, the s- my rooms to go bomb in was the coffee shop or a library or the back of a basement.

   20. JRJoe Rogan20:31

       Yeah.

   21. PJPunkie Johnson20:31

       Uh, I mean, uh, not the back, but in a basement or something like that. But I'm, I'm leveling up now, so. But I still don't know what it feel like to, like, really truly perform in a big theater. You know what I'm saying? I guess, like, things just kinda turned around for me so fast that I was never put in a, a situation to go open for anybody.

   22. JRJoe Rogan20:54

       Mm.

   23. PJPunkie Johnson20:55

       So, now I just, I just gotta figure out how to do it now, you know? Just now I'm working up to the theaters without having a experience of, of doing it for anybody else.

   24. JRJoe Rogan21:07

       And you're doing it as a headliner.

   25. PJPunkie Johnson21:09

       Right. (laughs)

   26. JRJoe Rogan21:11

       (laughs)

   27. PJPunkie Johnson21:11

       I'm lear-... Look, this is from the mud, man. I, there got some days I be like, "Punky, what are you doing?" I gotta question myself every day 'cause I don't know, but I'm doing it.

   28. JRJoe Rogan21:25

       Just keep doing it.

   29. PJPunkie Johnson21:26

       Yeah.

   30. JRJoe Rogan21:26

       Keep doing it, and one day you look back and you go, "How the fuck did I get here?"
10. 25:34 – 28:15

    SNL as a corporate job: rules, cancellations, and people trying to tear you down

    1. JRJoe Rogan25:34

       Oh.

    2. PJPunkie Johnson25:34

       ... you know, but then, you know, like now I have this, you know, SNL's my first corporate job.

    3. JRJoe Rogan25:39

       Right.

    4. PJPunkie Johnson25:40

       You know, where I got rules to follow and shit.

    5. JRJoe Rogan25:43

       Mm-hmm.

    6. PJPunkie Johnson25:43

       You know, there's, and you know, you gotta, like especially in this climate, you just gotta watch what you do and watch what you say, and that's a big shift coming from somewhere where you didn't have to watch what you did and you didn't have to watch what you said.

    7. JRJoe Rogan25:54

       That's like the polar opposite of The Comedy Store.

    8. PJPunkie Johnson25:55

       100%.

    9. JRJoe Rogan25:56

       Yeah.

    10. PJPunkie Johnson25:57

        You know? So, you just gotta, uh, be smart.

    11. JRJoe Rogan26:01

        Yeah.

    12. PJPunkie Johnson26:01

        I have to be smarter in the way that I deliver or decide to say something sometimes, because I could say something, somebody could take that, blow that shit all out of context-

    13. JRJoe Rogan26:11

        Of course.

    14. PJPunkie Johnson26:11

        ... and then boom, that's my job. I'm just, and it, you just never know.

    15. JRJoe Rogan26:14

        Yeah. But that's okay too, even if that happens.

    16. PJPunkie Johnson26:19

        Even if it does, I mean, you're gonna always be all right, but then that's gonna piss me off. (laughs)

    17. JRJoe Rogan26:22

        Yeah. But-

    18. PJPunkie Johnson26:24

        It's just like, "Yo, why, why everybody starting all this drama over simply misunderstanding something that somebody said?"

    19. JRJoe Rogan26:31

        Well, it's purposely misunderstanding it. Like people are doing it on purpose. It's people that just... You know what it's like? It's like the world is filled with glass houses and there's just buckets of rocks everywhere.

    20. PJPunkie Johnson26:40

        Yeah.

    21. JRJoe Rogan26:40

        And people just wanna smash a window. It's like, it's, it's so easy to bring someone down now, especially someone that said s- they tweeted some shit in 2009-

    22. PJPunkie Johnson26:48

        Mm-hmm.

    23. JRJoe Rogan26:48

        ... or said some shit.

    24. PJPunkie Johnson26:50

        Yeah.

    25. JRJoe Rogan26:50

        It's like it's a normal part of human culture, like when you see someone, especially someone like yourself that's on the rise-

    26. PJPunkie Johnson26:58

        Mm-hmm.

    27. JRJoe Rogan26:58

        ... and now all of a sudden you're doing great, people that aren't doing great, they, they wanna chop you down. And you know what it's like, like there's one thing about comedy that's fascinating is that when you start out, anybody can start out.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson27:10

        Mm-hmm.

    29. JRJoe Rogan27:10

        You know, anyone can get on that stage. Open mics, it's for anyone, like literally anyone, including mentally ill people.

    30. PJPunkie Johnson27:16

        Yeah.
11. 28:15 – 32:42

    Weed, paranoia, and the artist’s inner battle for humility and drive

    1. JRJoe Rogan28:15

       You want some of this?

    2. PJPunkie Johnson28:16

       Oh, no, no, no.

    3. JRJoe Rogan28:17

       It's okay.

    4. PJPunkie Johnson28:17

       No, no, no. Let me tell you, let me tell you how-

    5. JRJoe Rogan28:20

       (laughs)

    6. PJPunkie Johnson28:20

       ... I'm losing my job for sure (laughs) if I smoke that shit.

    7. JRJoe Rogan28:23

       Really?

    8. PJPunkie Johnson28:24

       Look, I start... Look-

    9. JRJoe Rogan28:26

       (laughs)

    10. PJPunkie Johnson28:26

        ... I, I gotta, you know what I gotta do with marijuana? I gotta-

    11. JRJoe Rogan28:29

        What?

    12. PJPunkie Johnson28:29

        ... smoke that shit at the house.

    13. JRJoe Rogan28:31

        (coughs)

    14. PJPunkie Johnson28:32

        Nobody there. It's just me. I can't get on the phone.

    15. JRJoe Rogan28:35

        Really?

    16. PJPunkie Johnson28:36

        Yes. I have to be in my own thoughts.

    17. JRJoe Rogan28:38

        Oh. Interesting.

    18. PJPunkie Johnson28:39

        Yeah. Sometimes, sometimes I'll film myself while I'm high.

    19. JRJoe Rogan28:45

        (laughs)

    20. PJPunkie Johnson28:45

        (laughs)

    21. JRJoe Rogan28:45

        Doing what?

    22. PJPunkie Johnson28:47

        Well, I'll go crazy, like weed makes me crazy. I'm paranoid. I'm always worried about my parents.

    23. JRJoe Rogan28:53

        Mm-hmm.

    24. PJPunkie Johnson28:54

        Um, I always start feeling also like I ain't shit with marijuana. It's, uh, and, uh, but a lot of people that smoke, they're like, "Look, just keep smoking, keep smoking. That's just a wall you gotta break through." But I can't, I can't, I can't let myself feel that way. Maybe it's the weed that I'm smoking, I don't know, but-

    25. JRJoe Rogan29:11

        No, I know what you're talking about. I feel that way too.

    26. PJPunkie Johnson29:13

        Yeah.

    27. JRJoe Rogan29:14

        It's like, it's humbling, and that's what I like about it.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson29:17

        Yeah, it makes me-

    29. JRJoe Rogan29:18

        I, I-

    30. PJPunkie Johnson29:18

        ... feel I'm, like I'm not good enough. I just-
12. 32:42 – 38:05

    Tipping, service-industry empathy, and why Punkie prefers the East Coast now

    1. JRJoe Rogan32:42

       Well, sometimes people, uh, they abuse people that, like, work in the service industry.

    2. PJPunkie Johnson32:46

       Yeah.

    3. JRJoe Rogan32:47

       You know?

    4. PJPunkie Johnson32:48

       It happens. A lot, unfortunately.

    5. JRJoe Rogan32:51

       Yeah.

    6. PJPunkie Johnson32:51

       You know, I try to pay it forward, you know? You can always... Like, when I go to restaurants and stuff, you can always tell that I served and I bartended for a while because all... I stack everything up. (laughs)

    7. JRJoe Rogan33:00

       Nice.

    8. PJPunkie Johnson33:00

       They like, "Will you chill?" I'm like, "It's habit. Uh, I just-"

    9. JRJoe Rogan33:03

       (laughs)

    10. PJPunkie Johnson33:04

        "... clean the fucking table for the people. They just come pick the shit up and..." And then I try my hardest to, uh, tip at least 50%, like-

    11. JRJoe Rogan33:12

        Good for you.

    12. PJPunkie Johnson33:12

        And I also get that from you.

    13. JRJoe Rogan33:13

        Yeah.

    14. PJPunkie Johnson33:14

        (laughs)

    15. JRJoe Rogan33:14

        (laughs)

    16. PJPunkie Johnson33:14

        I'm like, "You know, Joe come in, he... Man, you showed mad love. You was the reason why we made money a lot, a lot of nights." And so I just try to pay that back.

    17. JRJoe Rogan33:23

        I... It feels good. I tell people it's like you're leaving love bombs.

    18. PJPunkie Johnson33:26

        Mm-hmm.

    19. JRJoe Rogan33:26

        Leaving a love bomb.

    20. PJPunkie Johnson33:28

        Yeah.

    21. JRJoe Rogan33:28

        Like, even if you're not even there to watch it go off. I like to get out of the room-

    22. PJPunkie Johnson33:31

        Yeah.

    23. JRJoe Rogan33:31

        ... before they even see the tip.

    24. PJPunkie Johnson33:33

        Yes.

    25. JRJoe Rogan33:33

        Just, just enjoy that.

    26. PJPunkie Johnson33:34

        I, I mean, I can't do it all the time.

    27. JRJoe Rogan33:36

        Yeah, I get it.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson33:36

        But sometimes I'm with my girl and I'm like, if the s-... I mean, especially if the people were incredible, I look at my girl, I'm like, "We blessing these people tonight?" She be like, "Blessing, baby." (laughs)

    29. JRJoe Rogan33:46

        (laughs)

    30. PJPunkie Johnson33:46

        (laughs)
13. 38:05 – 45:26

    Fame, genius, and volatility: Kanye West, Elon Musk, and runaway-train minds

    1. JRJoe Rogan38:05

       And a lot of people who made it through, like Prince-

    2. PJPunkie Johnson38:07

       Mm-hmm.

    3. JRJoe Rogan38:07

       ... he had to change his fucking name because he couldn't perform under the name Prince. He had to use-

    4. PJPunkie Johnson38:11

       Damn.

    5. JRJoe Rogan38:11

       ... that crazy logo.

    6. PJPunkie Johnson38:13

       That's crazy.

    7. JRJoe Rogan38:14

       It's crazy that he pulled it off, though. (laughs)

    8. PJPunkie Johnson38:15

       Yeah. Well-

    9. JRJoe Rogan38:15

       He's like, "I got an idea, bitch."

    10. PJPunkie Johnson38:17

        Well also-

    11. JRJoe Rogan38:17

        "I'm so famous."

    12. PJPunkie Johnson38:18

        And it's like-

    13. JRJoe Rogan38:18

        "Everybody knows who the fuck this is."

    14. PJPunkie Johnson38:20

        I also was like, "I'm, I'm me."

    15. JRJoe Rogan38:22

        And he did it before social media.

    16. PJPunkie Johnson38:23

        Yeah.

    17. JRJoe Rogan38:24

        You know?

    18. PJPunkie Johnson38:24

        Yeah. Yeah.

    19. JRJoe Rogan38:25

        Like, Kanye could change his name every week and people would keep up.

    20. PJPunkie Johnson38:27

        Kanye can do whatever he want.

    21. JRJoe Rogan38:28

        He can change his name every week.

    22. PJPunkie Johnson38:30

        Kanye done did some shit. Kanye still popping. They got some people-

    23. JRJoe Rogan38:33

        Listen-

    24. PJPunkie Johnson38:33

        ... that's just...

    25. JRJoe Rogan38:33

        ... they took a big chunk out of his income, like what, what is hap-... (sighs) It's l-... It's...

    26. PJPunkie Johnson38:41

        Kanye done said some shit-

    27. JRJoe Rogan38:42

        Yeah.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson38:42

        ... and done some shit, I mean, some shit that done pissed me off.

    29. JRJoe Rogan38:46

        Yeah.

    30. PJPunkie Johnson38:46

        But he's not gonna go away.
14. 45:26 – 56:53

    Cars and modern supply chains: Teslas-at-SNL joke, chip shortages, Jeeps vs Broncos

    1. PJPunkie Johnson45:26

       I also thought he was gonna leave everybody at SNL a Tesla. (laughs)

    2. JRJoe Rogan45:30

       (laughs)

    3. NANarrator45:31

       (laughs)

    4. PJPunkie Johnson45:31

       'Cause the hosts, they leave us gifts, slippers, shoes, hoodies.

    5. JRJoe Rogan45:34

       Oh, that's hilarious.

    6. PJPunkie Johnson45:35

       Sometimes we'll come to work the next, after that Saturday, they, they, uh, we have a whole bunch of catered food. "Oh, this food from Jack Harlow, this food from such-and-such." So I was like, "You know what? What if Elon leave us all Teslas?"

    7. JRJoe Rogan45:47

       Ah.

    8. PJPunkie Johnson45:48

       I was wrong.

    9. JRJoe Rogan45:48

       That's so many Teslas.

    10. PJPunkie Johnson45:49

        (laughs)

    11. JRJoe Rogan45:50

        How many Teslas would that be, for how many people?

    12. PJPunkie Johnson45:52

        I think it would've been, at the time when he came, I think it would've been 22 Teslas, if I'm not mistaken. (laughs)

    13. JRJoe Rogan45:57

        Jesus Christ. (laughs) They probably have a back order on those things anyway. Cars are, I don't know if they've sorted that out yet with new cars, but with new cars, there was a backlog on new cars 'cause of chips.

    14. PJPunkie Johnson46:08

        Mm.

    15. JRJoe Rogan46:09

        There's like a problem getting the chips, the computer chips, which are in every fucking car now.

    16. PJPunkie Johnson46:14

        Ah. What, uh, is the computer chips the, like the, um, so you can know where the car is?

    17. JRJoe Rogan46:20

        No, so the computer works with the emission system, and everything is computerized now.

    18. PJPunkie Johnson46:24

        Oh, okay.

    19. JRJoe Rogan46:25

        Mo- And then also, there's an operating system. It runs like Apple CarPlay-

    20. PJPunkie Johnson46:29

        Oh, okay.

    21. JRJoe Rogan46:30

        ... and Android CarPlay.

    22. PJPunkie Johnson46:30

        I don't know nothing about, I don't know shit about cars.

    23. JRJoe Rogan46:32

        Yeah, well, I'm a car nut.

    24. PJPunkie Johnson46:34

        Oh, cool.

    25. JRJoe Rogan46:35

        And so... But, uh, the new ones are confusing to me. Like, I g- I get that all that stuff is important, but it's confusing that we don't even make a lot of that shit-

    26. PJPunkie Johnson46:44

        Mm-hmm.

    27. JRJoe Rogan46:44

        ... over here. Like, you know, a l- lot of the chips, they're making them overseas.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson46:48

        Oh.

    29. JRJoe Rogan46:48

        Yeah, so I think they're having ... I, I think Elon's working on making chips here and Samsung is working on making chips here, but I think a lot of that was exposed during the pandemic that a l- a lot of chips are being made overseas, and they need them for cars.

    30. PJPunkie Johnson46:59

        Mm-hmm.
15. 56:53 – 1:01:24

    Zoos, wanting a ranch life, hunting sketches, and responsible gun culture

    1. PJPunkie Johnson56:53

       Ever, ever. I don't really like the zoo, like talking about it.

    2. JRJoe Rogan56:56

       Oof. I don't like the zoo.

    3. PJPunkie Johnson56:58

       Uh-uh. Mm-mm.

    4. JRJoe Rogan56:58

       I don't like the zoo.

    5. PJPunkie Johnson56:59

       They, them animals are wild. They need to be free.

    6. JRJoe Rogan57:01

       Yeah. Exactly.

    7. PJPunkie Johnson57:01

       And everybody acting all surprised when things happen. They, they fucking animals.

    8. JRJoe Rogan57:04

       It's very c- it's very confusing, right? Because y- you're like, "Well, where do we put them?" And that's a good point. And how do you make sure that they stay, uh, keep off the endangered species list? That's a good point too. But that is hell.

    9. PJPunkie Johnson57:16

       Mm-mm.

    10. JRJoe Rogan57:16

        Especially for the primates. I was in Denver once. I'll never forget this. I was walking with my family, 'cause my, you know, when my kids were real little, I loved to take them to the zoo, because they're so fascinating.

    11. PJPunkie Johnson57:28

        Mm-hmm.

    12. JRJoe Rogan57:28

        They're so f- I mean, it's horrible that you're supporting this thing, but selfishly I was like, "Look, it exists, it exists already, uh, there's nothing I can do about it."

    13. PJPunkie Johnson57:37

        Mm-hmm.

    14. JRJoe Rogan57:37

        "And I'm not gonna, like, stop them from b- ... If I boycott, if I stand up and say, 'I'm not gonna pay,' it's still gonna be there. And m- I want my kids to see these animals."

    15. PJPunkie Johnson57:45

        Yeah.

    16. JRJoe Rogan57:45

        It's a, it's a weird experience. And, uh, this primate, I don't know what kind of monkey it was, but it was in its cage and it was screaming, like a crazy person in prison, like, "No!"

    17. PJPunkie Johnson57:57

        (laughs)

    18. JRJoe Rogan57:58

        That's what it felt like. And I was like, I told my wife, I was like, I go, "This is depressing."

    19. PJPunkie Johnson58:03

        Very.

    20. JRJoe Rogan58:03

        I'm like, "I gotta get away from this." I'm like, "This is really bumming me out."

    21. PJPunkie Johnson58:08

        We gotta free these animals. I want, I honestly want, like... The way my, the way I envision my life, right, like, I want... If, if it was up to me, I would have a ranch in a town, a country town, where the next grocery store is 20, 30 minutes out. Like, I just wanna live away.

    22. JRJoe Rogan58:27

        This is your spot then, Punky.

    23. PJPunkie Johnson58:28

        Right? That's what I'm saying.

    24. JRJoe Rogan58:29

        You need to come to Texas.

    25. PJPunkie Johnson58:30

        I just wanna live away, Joe.

    26. JRJoe Rogan58:31

        That's how people live out here.

    27. PJPunkie Johnson58:32

        I want a ranch-style home.

    28. JRJoe Rogan58:35

        Let's go. Let's go, Punky.

    29. PJPunkie Johnson58:36

        I want about a acre of land. Not too much.

    30. JRJoe Rogan58:38

        I'm gonna teach you how to bow hunt.
16. 1:01:24 – 1:11:29

    Dirty Harry nostalgia, comfort TV rewatches, and getting into martial arts

    1. JRJoe Rogan1:01:24

       I was just thinking how ridiculous it was that Clint Eastwood had a movie where the star of the movie was that he had the biggest gun. He had a .44 Magnum.

    2. PJPunkie Johnson1:01:32

       Mm-hmm.

    3. JRJoe Rogan1:01:32

       Remember? D- did you ever watch Dirty Harry?

    4. PJPunkie Johnson1:01:35

       No.

    5. JRJoe Rogan1:01:36

       That was the whole premise of the movie. Like, everybody else had a .38. He's got a .44. "You might think-"

    6. PJPunkie Johnson1:01:43

       (laughs)

    7. JRJoe Rogan1:01:43

       "...Did I shoot all those bullets or did I not? Do you feel lucky, punk?"

    8. PJPunkie Johnson1:01:46

       I'ma, I'ma have to write-

    9. JRJoe Rogan1:01:47

       Oh, do you?

    10. PJPunkie Johnson1:01:48

        ... that one down. No. I gotta, I gotta watch that one. I'm-

    11. JRJoe Rogan1:01:49

        It's a corny-ass movie. And it's a, it's a movie that, if you watch it now, it's so dated. So, go to, go to the scene where Clint Eastwood says, "Do you feel lucky?" From Dirty Harry, where the guy is like... The guy's like a cartoonish bad guy. Like, the most evil, cartoonish bad guy. And Clint Eastwood gives him this, "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

    12. PJPunkie Johnson1:02:10

        (laughs)

    13. JRJoe Rogan1:02:10

        And then he, he fucking... Of course he shoots him. (guns firing) Absolutely nuts. This is a classic scene.

    14. Uh, I know what you're thinking, that if I have six shots or only five. Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I've kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question. "Do I feel lucky?" "Well, do ya, punk?"

    15. (laughs)

    16. Hey. I gots to know.

    17. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:11

        (laughs)

    18. JRJoe Rogan1:03:11

        (laughs)

    19. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:11

        What the fuck? (laughs) Whoa, shut up.

    20. JRJoe Rogan1:03:15

        He wanted to know whether or not he had the bullets?

    21. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:17

        Uh-oh.

    22. JRJoe Rogan1:03:19

        Oh.

    23. See, I re- I've, I've, I remember this entirely wrong.

    24. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:27

        (laughs) That's hilarious.

    25. JRJoe Rogan1:03:28

        I re-... I thought it was a Mexican dude.

    26. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:31

        (laughs)

    27. JRJoe Rogan1:03:31

        I remember this entirely wrong. Uh, in my mind, it was a Mexican dude and he shot him.

    28. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:35

        I'm just laughing at, "I gots to know." (laughs)

    29. JRJoe Rogan1:03:38

        "I gots to know." So crazy. So crazy.

    30. PJPunkie Johnson1:03:42

        That's... Oh, my God.

Episode duration: 2:40:40